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kwissmiss
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Joined: 21 Mar 2011
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Financing/Loans 06 Feb 2012, 12:56
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Hi, I am recently admitted to a few U.S. programs. Now that this has finally become real, I'm starting to work out financing, leaving my job, summer travel, and moving to a new city.

1) Are people mostly using federal (Direct & GradPLUS) loans? Has anyone tried for lower rates with private loans? If so, from where?
2) When do people typically receive the loan funds? I assume right when tuition is due? Just wondering how the cash flow works. (That is, how long I will need to rely on savings after leaving my job.)

Any advice is appreciated!
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MDF
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Concentration: Strategy, Economics
Schools: Chicago (Booth) - Class of 2014
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Financing/Loans 17 Feb 2012, 11:23
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kwissmiss

1) Are people mostly using federal (Direct & GradPLUS) loans? Has anyone tried for lower rates with private loans? If so, from where?
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I'm trying to figure this out myself. I'm either going to go 100% private, or do 50% federal + 50% private. Private loans are incredibly cheap right now, especially if you have a co-signer. The only downside is that the rate is variable.

kwissmiss

2) When do people typically receive the loan funds? I assume right when tuition is due? Just wondering how the cash flow works. (That is, how long I will need to rely on savings after leaving my job.)
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I'm no expert, but I think that with the federal loans, you get a chunk of $ at the start of each quarter or semester. So if you qualify for $80K/year, you'd get $40k at the start of the first semester, and $40k at the start of the second semester. I believe that this money comes to you within a short amount of time before tuition is due.
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kwissmiss
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Financing/Loans 17 Feb 2012, 11:30
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Do you have an institution in mind for the private loans?
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MDF
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Financing/Loans 17 Feb 2012, 13:03
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kwissmiss
Do you have an institution in mind for the private loans?
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I'm going to start shopping around this spring at some of the big (citi, jpm, bofa) and regional banks. I think you can also get rate quotes from some of the larger lenders online.
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novanative
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Financing/Loans 02 Mar 2012, 22:50
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kwissmiss
Hi, I am recently admitted to a few U.S. programs. Now that this has finally become real, I'm starting to work out financing, leaving my job, summer travel, and moving to a new city.

1) Are people mostly using federal (Direct & GradPLUS) loans? Has anyone tried for lower rates with private loans? If so, from where?
2) When do people typically receive the loan funds? I assume right when tuition is due? Just wondering how the cash flow works. (That is, how long I will need to rely on savings after leaving my job.)

Any advice is appreciated!
Show more

1. I will only do the Stafford and GradPLUS. Private loans may have cheaper rates but do not have the flexibility options to the extent that the federal loans have. Yet, all loans (federal and private) are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy if god forbid, any one of us had to file for it.

2. With federal loans, the funds are usually disbursed a couple weeks before class. You then can request a refund to give you back the living allowance money if that's what you elected to do. At the end of the day, these loan disbursements differ from one school to the next.